From Dark Knight, Dark City onwards, Peter Milligan wrote some of the most unique and gripping Batman tales of the dark age. After revitalising the Riddler, and pitting Batman against hitmen and white supremacists, Milligan continued to write more tales for the Dark Knight, but usually only one-off tales. I’m not sure if editor Dennis O’Neil was ever tempted to give Milligan a lengthy run on either Batman or Detective Comics, but I doubt that Milligan would have wanted that. His genius was clear in his one-off stories, and I think a long run would have become as over-complicated and complex as his famed Shade, the Changing Man series for Vertigo. Nevertheless, Milligan wrote a four-part crossover between the main two Bat-titles in 1992 called The Idiot Root – a story which isn’t so distant from the wacky but depressing world of Vertigo Comics…
For this second review of Peter Milligan’s Batman stories, I’ll be looking at Detective Comics 633, 638-640, 643, and Batman 472-473. Published between August 1991 and April 1992, these stories were drawn by Tom Mandrake, Jim Aparo, Mike DeCarlo, and Norm Breyfogle – all of whom are artistic legends!
Identity Crisis --- Written by Peter Milligan with art by Tom Mandrake and Mike DeCarlo
Detective Comics 633 is an issue that epitomises creative writers like Peter Milligan or Grant Morrison. Bruce Wayne, dressed in tuxedo and formal wear, wakes up in the docks of Gotham City. Upon returning home to Wayne Manor, he finds Alfred and his ward Tim Drake only mildly concerned for him. It’s only mild; after all, Bruce Wayne is a playboy. And that’s all Alfred and Tim think of him as, for Bruce Wayne is in a world where he is not Batman. The build-up and growing panic conveyed in Bruce, convinced that he is the Dark Knight, makes for excellent reading as he discovers no Bat-Cave beneath the manor. What’s more, Batman is out there on the streets fighting crime, creating a unique mystery. Readers may be used to concepts like ‘what if Bruce Wayne never became Batman’ but by splitting Bruce Wayne and Batman into two separate bodies, it adds a deep layer of mystery. Alongside panic racing in Batman’s mind, there is also confusion. For instance, the cellar of the manor contains a fragment of the Bat-Cave computer – his old world is still there but hidden. In the end, Bruce confronts and unmasks this mysterious Batman, only to find that it is still Bruce Wayne! Suddenly, the villainous plot unravels as Batman reveals that, throughout, we haven’t been following Bruce Wayne, but the Synaptic Kid, a psychic who wanted to discover Batman’s true identity, but instead lost himself in the complexities of Bruce Wayne’s decompartmentalised mind, whereby the personalities of Bruce and Batman are militaristically separate. This makes for a flawless reveal and ending. Even though a concept such as this one could easily confuse or annoy a reader, Milligan avoids that easy trap by giving the villain a simple desire and ultimately moulding the plot around the characters. With the ending, you can begin to notice elements where the Synaptic Kid’s fear appears through Bruce Wayne. Overall, Milligan writes a perfect story with great mystery and confusion, but ultimately it provides a great summary for how complex Batman’s personality (and personalities) are how a foe like the Synaptic Kid can fall prey to it.
This dark world of fear and confusion is conveyed brilliantly by Tom Mandrake, an artist whose general creative output is more horror-based. Those elements of fear and panic are added to by the deep and dark inks of Mike DeCarlo, presenting a frightening and confusing world which we believe is scaring Batman, but is actually striking fear into the Synaptic Kid.
The Bomb --- Written by Peter Milligan with art by Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo
Detective Comics 638 instantly leaves an impact. At a secret military base, unknown even to Batman himself, a group of Raiders break in to retrieve the Bomb, not merely a talking robot, but a destructive result that will soon transform modern-day Gotham into 1945 Hiroshima. The chief of security at the base demands the Dark Knight’s help to find the Bomb in Gotham. Although Batman agrees, throughout he begins to notice red herrings in what he’s been told about the Bomb. Batman discovers the Bomb is not a robot, but a human being, specifically an emotive one who enjoys reading classic books. Even though the Bomb is seemingly killing people across Gotham, the Dark Knight believes something deeper is going on. When he locates the Bomb, he finds that the Bomb is a woman named Rebecca, a prisoner of the suit. It’s revealed that all the recent killings were caused not by Rebecca, but by the military who hired Batman to retrieve her. It was all part of a ploy for the Dark Knight to enjoy no sympathy for her; that plan fails as the Dark Knight rescues Rebecca from the suit and speaks to her outside in the peace-and-quiet, just as the sun sets. Milligan sadly doesn’t go into too much detail about Rebecca’s story – she really is a bomb with a huge capacity for destruction, but there isn’t much of an origin story given. Effectively, she is a test subject as the scientists simply want to unearth her power at the cost of her freedom. In the end, Batman defeats the military from retrieving the Bomb, and she finds great peace in that, for her robotic shell is her life support system, and without that, the final page depicts Rebecca as she slowly fades into death. It makes for a soft ending to a tragic story – Milligan writes a personably but not romantic relationship between Rebecca and Batman, and considering everything, the conclusion makes for the perfect ending to Rebecca’s sad life. Peter Milligan writes a story heavy in drama and emotion, but it does feel as if the Bomb’s kidnappers at the start of the story are forgotten about too quickly, and I can’t begin to imagine the scale of this story’s aftermath, but Milligan glides over that – perhaps for the best.
Jim Aparo and Mike DeCarlo know what they’re doing. With the Bomb appearing as a titanic and threatening robot, it deliberately clashes with the beauty and softness of Rebecca. Alongside the usual fluidity of an Aparo tale, there are some great panels of the Dark Knight gliding around Gotham, appearing not as a man, but as a spectral figure belonging to urban legend. Just as it should be.
The Idiot Root --- Written by Peter Milligan with art by Norm Breyfogle, Jim Aparo, and Mike DeCarlo
In-between the one-off tales of Milligan’s run is The Idiot Root, a four-parter published in Batman 472-473, and Detective Comics 639-640. During an era when the two main Bat-titles were virtually indistinguishable, giving Milligan a four-parter published over two months provided space for the most ambitious tale yet. Whatever one thinks, it is certainly the strangest of Peter Milligan’s Batman stories…
The Idiot Root is a very different story. And that’s not just in terms of plotting, but the setting too. Batman 472 takes us to Rio De Janerio, with the Dark Knight visiting not on a social call, but on the hunt for the Queen of Hearts, a serial killer whose name predictably suggests her obsession – the human organ which she has collected hundreds of. Although a foe that Batman has confronted before, this is her first appearance in the Bat-Universe – and also her last. She doesn’t die, but she is such a dated and slightly embarrassing creation that future writers have forgotten about her. Perhaps it’s for the best. While Batman is chasing this wacky villain around Rio, another evil is creating mindless zombies on the streets. Enter the Idiot – a kid whose self-given name is deliberately incorrect. This villain of sharp intelligence has origins in the idiot root, an Amazonian plant which – alongside all the usual qualities of a mind-altering drug – has the power to link minds together. This creates some kind of mental universe, and within that strangeness emerges the Idiot, who feeds off of people’s minds. Judging by the idea, Milligan must have taken the idiot root himself to create such a bizarre idea for a story. After first meeting the Idiot, Batman’s world changes as events are manipulated around him. And for a great cliff-hanger ending to the first part, Crosby – the Idiot’s drug manufacturer and supplier who has been spreading the root around Rio – injects the drug into Batman and the Queen of Hearts…
The drug is too much for the Queen of Hearts – she is effectively knocked-out for the story. For Detective Comics 639, Batman fights the strange world of the Idiot, but comes to no success. The Dark Knight instead enlists the help of Zeno, a former drug-trafficker who has seemingly seen the error of his ways. I say ‘seemingly’, but he actually has done, even though Milligan never quite releases the suspicion that his conversion is all a rouse. His relationship with Batman has some great comedic moments – Peter Milligan, while naturally oozing a degree of pretentiousness and colourful creativity in his writing – also has the treasured capacity to be funny. But there aren’t many laughs to be had here. Batman reads about Crosby, the servant of the Idiot who injected himself with the drug only to become the slave of this bizarre entity. But once again, the Idiot begins to manipulate the world around the Dark Knight as he nears the Idiot’s base in an old temple in a nearby jungle. With that, Batman is held tightly in the firm grasp of the Idiot…
Batman is now completely mad on mind-altering drugs – something you don’t see too often in comics. Batman 473 has some stunning moments. Batman, perhaps too easily, breaks into the Idiot’s lair to discover he has several people’s minds hooked up to the Idiot Zone, the villain’s collective consciousness. Batman must enter the Idiot Zone to defeat the foe – enter wacky scenes with strange panel shapes and odd imagery! The Dark Knight appears to defeat the Idiot and he frees the humans. The Dark Knight seems to enjoy a calmer and more stable world, but all of a sudden, that comfort to ripped away as the Idiot – still all powerful – provided Batman with a temporary pyrrhic victory. While, with another issue to go, it was expected that the Idiot wasn’t really defeated, I adore how Milligan allowed a false sense of security and accomplishment to appear. It adds an element of shock, but also one of intensity as the Idiot has grown stronger. Unlike other Batman villains, the Idiot has much broader and reality-altering powers. With the Idiot now all-powerful – to the point where he has killed Crosby, his immense power can literally cause heads to explode, and he can completely mould the world to his own image – what good can one man do?
Detective Comics 640 – despite all the build-up and drama of the previous issues – begins too quietly and peacefully. With the Idiot enjoying the powers of a god, it’s no longer the calm before the storm – we are at the heart of a tornado. There is too much talking and waiting around in the final issue, with the Idiot hiding and stealthily unleashing his powers, which surely should be the complete opposite to his new
status as a god. Nevertheless, when the Dark Knight locates the Idiot, this time it's a fairer fight. Batman has learned to turn weirdness and fear against the Idiot. By discovering that the Idiot is occupying the body of Caeser Lopez, a wannabe murderer with a phobia of birds, Batman defeats the Idiot by unleashing a truck full of every imaginable bird possible. You really couldn’t make this up. It’s like a plot device from the silver age – although it stands out in this darker age of comic books, for a story as crazy as The Idiot Root, I can make an exception. Caeser Lopez – as the real identity of the villain – is perhaps revealed too late into events, but although he is dead, the consciousness of the Idiot is still out there. DC have never brought the foe back, but if he were to return, it would have to require Peter Milligan once again.
Despite a disappointing conclusive issue, The Idiot Root moves a great pace in the first three issues. The Queen of Hearts is no great villain, and she only really exists as a reason for Batman to visit Rio, but with such a creative concept and brilliant villain, Milligan writes a story with high stakes and uniquity. Furthermore, even though Milligan can often write pretentious plots and write them in such confusing granite-like paragraphs, The Idiot Root mostly avoids that. Not all the information is revealed at once, and the bizarre and colourful world of the drug itself is depicted not through words, but through – pardon the pun – batty art.
With two titans of Batman art present – Jim Aparo and Norm Breyfogle – a difference in their styles is easy to notice. Both are brilliantly effective and fluid in their storytelling. They both create a world oozing with drama and visual playfulness. But out of the two, I have to admit – as challenging as it may be – that Breyfogle’s art is the superior here. Although Aparo’s is brilliantly smooth and dramatic, it doesn’t fit the kind of story that Milligan has written. With the Idiot unleashing mind-altering images into Batman’s world, full of colour and strange shapes, Breyfogle captures that flawlessly and imaginatively. Meanwhile, Aparo’s version looks flatter and more awkward. Although Breyfogle’s usually jagged and sharp style of art, while effective, is less preferable to me over Aparo’s, I think Breyfogle’s style really fits The Idiot Root. Although there is a noticeable contrast between the styles, it’s hard to deny their overwhelming importance and strengths as visual storytellers, without whom the legacy of Batman would be less rich.
The Library of Souls --- Written by Peter Milligan with art by Jim Aparo
For Peter Milligan’s final Batman story during the 1990s, Detective Comics 643 is a genuine detective tale, sprinkled with gothic horror. A frightened old lady wakes up in the night to find a skeleton in her bath. She isn’t the only one, for many other skeletons – bodies of people long dead – emerge across Gotham, all wearing jackets with different numbers on them. Peter Milligan makes the mystery of the story about not who the killer is, but why they are doing it. The killer is Stanislaus Johns, who – alongside enjoying a humorous name – is a former librarian.
He isn’t interested in killing people for little reason – after all, he allows a married couple to live when they discover him sneaking some skeletal remains into their home. He is creating Gotham City into his own distorted and mad library, where the dead are given numbers to denote their former occupation and new resting place. By using a variant of the Dewey system, the famous classification system for books in libraries, Stanislaus Johns reorganises the dead of Gotham into his own order. In the end, through the help of a librarian who worked with the killer, Batman defeats Stanislaus Johns and puts him behind bars. With its very basic structure, but fantastic plot full of creativity and characters who are very interesting or entertaining, Peter Milligan writes yet another flawless one-off that really hooks readers and brings them deep into this gothic and dark world of mystery.
With Aparo inking himself here, for the uninitiated reader, they would be forgiven for believing that this issue could have been printed in the 1970s. That period from the latter years of the sixties through to the middle of the nineties unleashed some of the best comic book art you are ever likely to witness. Especially for a gritty mystery story like this one, Aparo’s dramatic storytelling and measuring inking style add deep emotion to this tale. There are times when it almost appears as a horror title, and his version of Batman just oozes mystery. Aparo inked most of his own work during the 1970s and 1980s, but by the 1990s that became challenging due to a heavy workload. Nevertheless, it’s grand to witness such a master at work.
VERDICT
Overall, these Peter Milligan Batman tales are astonishingly good. Identity Crisis is a deliciously unique mystery tale, with a fantastic ending. The Bomb is full of emotion and revelations, while The Library of Souls is very-much a retro and old-fashioned detective tale that can never go wrong. The Idiot Root features such a creative concept and it’s delivered with such drama and punch that it really leaves a long-lasting impact. Despite a disappointing finale, there are some great revelations and moments in there. All-in-all, Peter Milligan’s Dark Knight tales from the early-1990s really do stand out. Not only are characters – like the Riddler – revamped, but the whole mood of the stories is unique. While much darker, Batman returns to his roots in solving mysteries and being the classic Dark Knight Detective. But also, Milligan refuses to play it safe – stories like The Idiot Root really are a stab-in-the-dark, a lurch to the outer-fringes of creativity where writers can either succeed or fail. Here, I’m glad to say, Milligan succeeds with flying colours…
Next Week: DC Universe: Rebirth (DCU: Rebirth 1). Written by Geoff Johns, with art by Ethan Van Sciver, Gary Frank, Ivan Reis, Joe Prado, Phil Jimenez, and Matt Santorelli.
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